New reporting standards for all funds predicted

New standardised reporting requirements for KiwiSaver providers will soon be applied to the entire fund management industry, an expert predicts.

Friday, May 25th 2012, 6:00AM

by Niko Kloeten

The changes, announced in yesterday's Budget, will require all KiwiSaver fund managers to report their performance and returns, fees and costs, and other key information in a standardised format on their websites.

This will enable investors to make direct performance comparisons between funds, Finance Minister Bill English and Commerce Minister Craig Foss said.

"Under the new disclosure rules, KiwiSaver providers will have to produce four quarterly reports, and one larger annual report, for each KiwiSaver fund they run, using a standard template," they said.

"The reports will contain information on returns, fees and charges, asset holdings, who manages the fund and any conflict of interests.

"Quarterly reports will be published within 10 working days from the end of each quarter, and an annual report will be published within 90 days of the end of the financial year. The reports will also be sent to the Financial Markets Authority," English and Foss said.

Morningstar head of research Chris Douglas said making the announcement as part of the Budget was somewhat of a surprise but the changes had been in the works for a while.

"This is something we've been having discussions with regulators about over the last year or two. I think it's a great win for investors and certainly will allow a true 'apples versus apples' comparison of different funds."

Asked if he thought the new requirements for KiwiSaver funds would soon apply to the whole industry, he said, "Absolutely, 100%. The indication we've had is that intially they'll do it for KiwiSaver then they'll be rolling it out across all managed funds."

Niko Kloeten can be contacted at niko@goodreturns.co.nz

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